Apple & Pear Sweet Cream Galette

January 18, 2016

I think I have fallen in love. Galettes, where have you been hiding?! This is such a fun and versatile recipe, that I am already excited to keep making more of. A galette is essentially a pan-less pie with no crust over the top, and the sides gently folded over onto the filling with the middle exposed. Get it? 😉 Either way, they are delicious! Some things that I love about them is that they can be savory or sweet, you can use any ingredients you have on hand, they can be either a dessert, dinner, or breakfast, and they can be made in a flash. I had some apples and pears on my counter that were needing to be used, so that’s what inspired this galette. But, think of the endless possibilities! I have a butternut squash galette recipe that I am keeping on my radar for next fall. Any fruit you have on hand can be used (peaches, strawberries, blueberries, oh my!) or even vegetables (zuchinni, broccoli, or tomatoes anyone?).

For the crust this time, I used a leftover store bought pie crust from Christmas that I had in my fridge. Feel free to either do the same (especially if you’re short on time!), or you can whip up your own pie dough recipe to use. Making your own crust, to me, is really fun to do, so I am looking forward to doing that next time! Let’s talk filling. Sweet cream you ask? Yes. Ever since my mom has been making her amazing pumpkin cheesecake (that only gets made for Thanksgiving) that has a delicious, creamy topping of cream cheese and sour cream, I have been hooked on the combination of the two. The cream cheese gives it the richness you crave, and the sour cream gives it a delightful tang. Toss in a little brown sugar to sweeten up the sour cream mixture and you’re set to go. I used this mixture as a base to my fruit topping, but you certainly don’t have to! The fruit on its own is delicious. You could also use a jam or jelly as a base, a ricotta cheese mixture (honey ricotta and figs sounds sublime!), or any other cheese you have on hand. The possibilities are endless. This galette was completely eaten in about 20 seconds. Just sayin’.

Ingredients:

1 apple of your choosing

1 pear

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup sour cream

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 roll out pie crust (or pie dough recipe of your choosing)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Thinly slice the apple and pear and put in a bowl. Add in the lemon juice, cinnamon, salt, and 3 tablespoons of the brown sugar. Toss lightly to coat.

In a seperate bowl, whip together the cream cheese, sour cream and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar until easily spreadable.

Roll out your pie crust onto a sprayed baking sheet.

Starting in the middle of the pie crust, spread the cream cheese mixture towards the edges of the crust, but stop an inch and a half before the edge on all sides.

Layer your fruit on top of the cream cheese in a decorative manner. Pour any liquid that gathers on the bottom of the fruit bowl on top of the layered fruit.

Fold and crimp the additional edges of the pie crust over the layered fruit, until all of the edges are folded over.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is cooked through.